Masamune Dan
|type = Villain |image = |label = Kamen Rider Cronus |label2 = Kamen Rider Cronus |name = Masamune Dan |homeworld = Earth |affiliation = Genm Corp. |gender = Male |season = Kamen Rider Ex-Aid |casts = Hiroyuki Takami |firstepisode = Christmas Special: Targeting the Silver X mas! |lastepisode = TBA |numberofepisodes = TBA (Ex-Aid) |image2 = }} is the first CEO of Genm Corp. and the father of Kuroto Dan. He had been imprisoned after being framed for starting Zero Day by his son. In reality, he's been manipulating the events upon of his true agenda. Upon being released from jail after Kuroto was discovered, Masamune immediately resumed his position as the CEO of Genm Corp. and entered the fray of the Riders and Bugsters using the Kamen Rider Chronicle Gashat with the Gashacon Bugvisor II to transform into . Character History Early Life 16 years ago during Emu's surgery led by Kyotaro Hinata where he and his son Kuroto were involved in, his son had first discovered the Bugster Viruses which first appeared glitching his laptop. A few years later, the Bugster Virus was later triggered by Kuroto during Zero Day, while Masamune was framed for it and later imprisoned. Present Masamune was visited by Kiriya Kujo in his prison. He would later give the information about the truth of Zero Day to Kujo, which led to Kujo's death at the hands of Genm Zombie Gamer Level X, who was his own corrupted son. One day, a cop named Heiji Uesugi went to visit him and talked about that the case of Zero Day has not been solved, and two people (Kuroto Dan and Kiriya Kujo) that have something to do with him have been missing. He told the cop that he had nothing more to say to him, and turned away to go back to his cell. As the cop insisted to find out something, he suddenly gets symptoms of Game Disease and starting to become weak, which caused him to turn around in confusion. Later on in the same day, Emu Hojo, accompanied with Asuna Karino went to visit him. When Emu introduced himself, Dan was a little bit surprised. He asked Emu what did he come for, which Emu told him about Kiriya's death during last year's Christmas was caused by none other than his son. Hearing this, Dan said he was truly disappointed by his son's doings. Emu then asked Dan about what he said to Kiriya during that day, which Dan not only replied to him about the truth that happened in the past, but also making a request to Emu to stop his son's sinister plans. Becoming Cronus and Showing his True Colors Months later, Masamune was finally released from jail and took over Genm Corp by force. Ren showed his protest in a gentle manner which Masamune also took it gently. When the Riders and the Bugsters finally have their final clash, Masamune showed himself using the power of Cronus. He later told everyone that everything had gone according to his plans. He reveals that the manipulation of himself to be jailed, the perfection of Kamen Rider Chronicle, and the succession of Kuroto were part of his plan; making Kuroto his hidden pawn and not Kuroto who pulled the strings, which surprises Kuroto himself. He then transformed into Kamen Rider Cronus, surprising the Riders as Kuroto had told Emu, Hiro, and Taiga that it is almost impossible even for the Riders with exception of Emu as he had a chance, to control the power of Cronus as the payment is huge for the controller's life especially immediate death for those who didn't receive operation of Bugster immunity. He told the others that Emu is not the only "the first infected Bugster" and claimed himself to be "the other one". Parad, Ren, and Graphite were vexed on this especially because the Riders were defeated single handedly with his power to control time. He also defeated Parad and Graphite, killing Ren permanently as he stopped the time of life of the Bugster whom he eliminated. He left all of them and announced that he is "the true God" of Kamen Rider Chronicle World. Family *Kuroto Dan - Son, Kamen Rider Genm *Sakurako Dan - Wife Personality At first glance, as a father, he cares about his son and had a great relationship between each other. He also had high expectations for his son to do something big when he grows up. That is until his son became corrupted for the sake of completing the ultimate game, which is Kamen Rider Chronicle. His son framed him that he was the one who started the events of Zero Day that happened five years ago to cover up the fact that he was the actual criminal who started those events in the first place. This eventually drove a wedge to the father and son relationship, causing Masamune to be disappointed for what his son had become. He became even more disappointed when Emu told him that the death of Kiriya was caused by none other than his son. After hearing this, he decided to tell Emu the truth that happened in the past and made an offer to Emu to stop his son once and for all. However, it's all just a facade. His true personality was that of an even worse God complex than his son, yet more controlled. While viewing the other Riders and Bugsters as nothing more than mere products of Genm Corp., referring to them by the names of the games they drew their powers from. After being finally released from jail, he forcefully regained control over Genm Corp. despite Ren Amagasaki still being the incumbent president of Genm Corp. Later on, he showed his true nature that he is actually "the other first infected" when Emu was infected and showed everyone that he is capable of using Cronus' power despite Kuroto's worry of the ultimate price. He already planned everything all along to have his son perfect the ultimate game and actually indirectly making his son eliminate anyone who interfered with the creation the game. Powers and Abilities *'Original Bugster Virus:' Being another Patient Zero, one of the two first persons to be infected of the Bugster virus before Zero Day, Masamune had hosted the virus for a prolonged period of time, causing the virus to fuse with and alter his DNA, thus granting him Rider and possibly even Bugster-like powers and abilities that by standard, requires external intervention to acquire. **'Natural Game Disease Immunity:' Like Emu, Masamune can utilize any Gashat accessed Drivers like Buggle Driver II and Rider Gashats without the need of the compatibility surgery. Also, his immunity is absolute, unlike the other Riders' acquired immunity which can still be overwhelmed by a large dose of Bugster virus. Levels Chronicle Gamer *'Height': 205.0 cm *'Weight': 101.0 kg Ability Perimeters: *'Punching power': 110.0 t *'Kicking power': 120.7 t *'Maximum jump height': 96.0 m *'Maximum running speed': 100m per 0.96 sec. is the default form of Kamen Rider Cronus, activated by inserting the Kamen Rider Chronicle Gashat into the Buggle Driver II. The power of Kamen Rider Cronus was originally meant to be awarded to whoever could make it all the way to Gemdeus, due to it's power being the only thing that can stop him. This form outclasses every Rider in terms of punching power, kicking power, and speed (he loses only slightly to Ex-Aid Maximum Gamer in terms of jump height). Cronus's true power lies in his ability to manipulate time: by pressing the A and B Button simultaneously on his Buggle Driver II allow Cronus to 'Pause' and 'Restart' time itself. Like other users of the Gashacon Bugvisor, Cronus uses the Gashacon Bugvisor II as his default weapon. This form's finisher is the : Cronus presses the B button twice on the Buggle Driver II and charges at an enemy. He then does a powerful counter-clockwise reverse roundhouse kick to the enemy, as a projectile of a clock appears below them. This finisher is capable of permanently killing a Bugster by trapping it in the moment of their death, preventing it from regenerating. Currently, his level is unknown; beyond that, he is clearly stronger than any Level seen so far. Powers and Abilities :Time Manipulation'''http://www.jefusion.com/2017/02/kamen-rider-ex-aid-kamen-rider.html ::Using the Buggle Driver II, Cronus could control the time itself for his advantage. He also able to stop the lifetime of even a perfected Bugster, making the latter unable to revive anymore. '''Appearances: Ex-Aid Episode 32- Relationship *Kuroto Dan - Masamune's son, and Kamen Rider Genm. He originally had high hopes for him up until he was framed for the Bugster Virus outbreak. His son was killed by Parad after Ex-Aid rendered Kuroto powerless from becoming a Rider, until Poppy manage to found the way to revive Kuroto during Kamen Rider Chronicle incident. However, Masamune actually planned all of this, to become the 'True God' of Kamen Rider Chronicle *Emu Hojo - Masamune appears to know about Emu since their first met 16 years ago during Emu's special surgery led by Kyotaro, though how much is unknown, as he expressed surprise after hearing his name for a long time. Its currently unknown how exactly he knows him back in 16 years of past. Later, he revealed that there's actually two Patient Zero, one is Emu and the other one is himself, thus explained why Masamune's able to transform, despite never receiving a compability surgery, just like Emu. Behind the Scenes Portrayal *Masamune Dan is portrayed by . Notes *Cronus's name is assumed to be from , as the creator of the Gashat has a desire for power much like Cronus did, and envied those whom possessed more power than himself. The connection also applies to Masamune as he had a greater desire for power than Kuroto. **It could also be connected to , the personification of time in ancient Greek culture. In fact, Cronus is always be confused with Chronos because of their similar names. The confusion is too common that even some historians treat the two as one God. However, according to the origin of myth, , Cronus has no relationship with any form of the "Time" concept, as he was born after the time runs, and only titled as the Titan of the Harvest . **It could also be partially derived from the word "chronicle" in Kamen Rider Chronicle, the game his Rider Gashat is based on. **One version of his legend is an inverse of the intent behind Kamen Rider Chronicle in that while the game pits players against each other in combat, Cronus led humanity to a Golden Age where no one fought and immorality was nonexistent. **Another reference from Greek myth is that Cronus is the leader of the Titans and father of the Olympians. Aptly, Masamune is the true father of the Bugster virus and Kuroto's father. This connection is deepened by how Kuroto is now fighting against him in the same way Zeus fought against his father, Cronus. *The "face" is reminiscent of Genm as initial scans of Sports Action Gamer Level 3 show blinkers with a similar design to the visor of Kamen Rider Cronus. **The design ties into the connection between the two Riders with Masamune being Kuroto's father and the design of the visor appears as a crown as opposed to just an ornate frame. *The magazine scans version of the Gashacon Bugvisor's colors seemed to match better with both Kamen Rider Cronus and his Gashat, though it's unknown why the final version of the actual prop has cyan parts instead of green. *Cronus is another Kamen Rider whose suit bears a trenchcoat, the first ones with this kind of suit being Kamen Rider Orga, Kamen Rider Yuuki, Kamen Rider Wizard, and Kamen Rider Heart. **Incidentally, the inner side of his trenchcoat uses the same red color as that of Wizard's. It appears to be recycled from Genm Wizard Gamer Level 2's trenchcoat. **Discounting his armor and trenchcoat, his base suit was reused from Kamen Rider Ex-Aid's Legend Rider forms (barring Kaigan Ghost) and the Ride-Player's form. Also, it looks like the basesuit of Genm Action Gamer Level 0. **Cronus is the first Evil Kamen Rider to have a trenchcoat design to be in the main story of his respective series. *Like Parad's forms having colors (blue and red) that become the same as Mighty Bros. (orange and teal) when inverted, Cronus' main color (green) is an inversion of Genm's base form's main color (purple). **Both this and the similarity in Cronus and Genm's appearances could be a reference to how Masamune was the original CEO of Genm Corp., but Kuroto stole it from him. *Masamune is also compared and similar to Tenjuro Banno as both are actually manipulating their own son for their need. However to differ both, Masamune is subdued and affable for a villain in contrast to Banno's psychotic personality. **However, his personality is more of Masato Mishima of Kamen Rider Kabuto for being no-nonsense villains who sees both heroes and villains alike beneath them. *Cronus having the power to stop time and land multiple blows capable of instantly defeating enemies could be a reference to game hacking to make it so that the player could win near-instantly with little to no effort. *Masamune Dan using the power of Cronus is similar to how Paradox Roidmude acquires and uses the power of Future Drive; the irony presents itself in how a Kamen Rider power meant to bring victory and security for humanity is used by the villains instead. Appearances * Kamen Rider Ex-Aid **Episode 12: Christmas Special: Targeting the Silver X mas! **Episode 21: Chasing the Mystery! **Episode 32: Judgment Received! **Episode 33: Company Reform! References Category:Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Category:Ex-Aid Characters Category:Relatives Category:Ex-Aid Riders Category:Heisei Era Riders Category:Neo-Heisei Era Riders Category:Villains Category:Bugster-infected Patients